Killington: Devil's Fiddle - will it see snowmaking this year?

[ski220]

Actually I always thought that Devil's Fiddle didn't have much besides a steep headwall. It flattens out way to fast. Putting a lift up it and wasting money blowing a lot of snow on it was a drain on the mountain. Resources that could be better used elsewhere.

 

[deadheadskier]

Actually I always thought that Devil's Fiddle didn't have much besides a steep headwall. It flattens out way to fast. Putting a lift up it and wasting money blowing a lot of snow on it was a drain on the mountain. Resources that could be better used elsewhere.

might want to duck

:lol:

your opinion would be quite unpopular around here.

I'm not a Killington skier, but have skied there many many times and I've always liked the Fiddle better than OL. Does it flatten out quickly? Yes, but the different fall lines and ledge exposures makes it a far more interesting trail......to me. As others have mentioned, it's a killer option in the spring when everything else is hard as a rock. Without snowmaking it can't make it very late into the season

 

[ski220]

the different fall lines and ledge exposures makes it a far more interesting trail......
Without snowmaking it can't make it very late into the season

Can be a very interesting trail. And without snowmaking I wonder if it could be skiable at all. Off season it looks like boulder field. Makes one think "Is that skiable?".

 

[Geoff]

Can be a very interesting trail. And without snowmaking I wonder if it could be skiable at all. Off season it looks like boulder field. Makes one think "Is that skiable?".

It varies from year to year. Last year, it didn't have much of a window when it wasn't really rocky and it was in pretty tough shape when things warmed up in early March. The year before, it was really nice in March.

 

[skiadikt]

way more interesting than ol. after the upper section, it makes a turn and dips & rolls with one last steep. as has been said, it's a great spring skiing trail since it faces southeast and is the first to soften. they should blow snow on it again. my skis would appreciate it ...

 

[icedtea]

the liftline and the small sections of woods between DF and the liftline could be epic if they would just trim some of the brush

 

[Highway Star]

Ski220 is in competition with Mondeo for Killington's most uninformed poster!

 

[icedtea]

Can be a very interesting trail. And without snowmaking I wonder if it could be skiable at all. Off season it looks like boulder field. Makes one think "Is that skiable?".

Oh it is skiable...use your rockers if you are afraid of a Kmart shred!!

 

[Newpylong]

Actually I always thought that Devil's Fiddle didn't have much besides a steep headwall. It flattens out way to fast. Putting a lift up it and wasting money blowing a lot of snow on it was a drain on the mountain. Resources that could be better used elsewhere.

Absolutely not. Snowmaking is necessary around the time frame of opening Bear to get a decent base on the trail. It's not feasable to keep it open with just natural snow - pipes were laid there for a reason.

The lift was unnecessary though.

 

[Highway Star]

The lift was needed back in the early 80's when it was installed. They had the sunrise triple coming up for route 4, and not another quad chair anywhere on the mountain. It was badly needed capacity on an exciting new trail pod. Then they converted the bear triple to a quad, and installed the SPQ, and added a bunch of trails at bear. Bear was the spot with reasonable lift capacity through most of the 80's.....everything else was overcrowded double/triple chairs.

 

[Highway Star]

So, lets get this thread back on track....

Does any have any great stories about skiing the fiddle back in the day?

 

[Beetlenut]

So, lets get this thread back on track....

Does any have any great stories about skiing the fiddle back in the day?

I fell off the "knob" before they blasted it!

 

[Geoff]

So, lets get this thread back on track....

Does any have any great stories about skiing the fiddle back in the day?

BMMC 2000 was pretty fun. Fiddle was covered edge-to-edge with nice soft mush bumps on a bluebird spring day. I spent several hours doing Fiddle, stop for a beer for the lift ride, Fiddle, stop for a beer for the lift ride... It was physical enough that I was burning it off at the same rate it was going down my throat.

I once hit the metal pole at the entrance to the Fiddle lift corral at speed. The corral used to be a straight shot to the lift so you'd keep your speed up on the Fiddle runout and coast all the way to the chair. Some herb was milling around and walked in front of the corral entrance I had lined up for. I didn't quite make the next corral entrance and straddled the pole. I had bruised ribs from that for a few weeks.

It used to be cool watching Wadhams doing his signature daffy/twister/spread off the cliff band back in the mid-1980's. All the OL bumpers used to flock there when it was the first thing to soften. Donna Weinbrecht. Mogul Maggie. Frank, BJ, and crew in that neon Club A gear. Turbo Turner doing spectacular crashes. Pretty high skill level considering everybody was self-taught and working out how to do it. No mountain school training and ramp camp back then. High Pressure Dave serving screwdrivers out of a colostomy bag hanging from that home-built camper parked next to the Fiddle Quad was always a sight.

 

[Highway Star]

Timely bump. Now that Killington is in terrain expansion mode, do they have any idea where Devil's Fiddle fits into the mix? Do they have any snowmaking budget for it? Spinmaster?

 

[Highway Star]

From this year's AZ challenge:

Highway Star: Why hasn't there been snowmaking on Devil's Fiddle for the last few years? Without any doubt, Devil's Fiddle is the best trail at Killington, and quite possibly the best expert trail in the northeast. Historically, it has been a snowmaking trail due to the southeastern exposure, and rocky nature. It also used to be much wider at the bottom before it was allowed to grow in. Cutting back the brush, making snow, and perhaps incorporating the old lift line and nearby glades with it would make for one amazing expert skiing area. It doesn't even need to be that much snowmaking, just enough to set a base.

(Geoff) Devils Fiddle provides fantastic southeast-facing terrain that is always the first thing to soften in March and April when the rest of the resort is frozen concrete. It was designed as a snowmaking trail and is rarely skiable on natural snow. Are there plans to blow snow on it and make this attraction available to your customers again?

Chris Nyberg : HS – Thanks for the feedback on Devils Fiddle. Agreed, that region provides a very unique experience that can be improved upon. The last 2 years nature has provided Killington with above average snowfall, particularly 07/08 when we were able to open Outer Limits on natural snow. That was a good day! The amount of natural snow on some runs is a decision driver that the Mountain Operations crew uses to determine where to focus their snowmaking efforts. Jeff Temple, the Director of Mountain Operations and his team will evaluate this run and the snowmaking needs once we get into production on Bear and make the call. My guess, most likely they will get on it unless this winter is mild and low snow in which case snowmaking will be concentrated on primary runs.

 

[drjeff]

Timely bump. Now that Killington is in terrain expansion mode, do they have any idea where Devil's Fiddle fits into the mix? Do they have any snowmaking budget for it? Spinmaster?

From this year's AZ challenge:

Highway Star: Why hasn't there been snowmaking on Devil's Fiddle for the last few years? Without any doubt, Devil's Fiddle is the best trail at Killington, and quite possibly the best expert trail in the northeast. Historically, it has been a snowmaking trail due to the southeastern exposure, and rocky nature. It also used to be much wider at the bottom before it was allowed to grow in. Cutting back the brush, making snow, and perhaps incorporating the old lift line and nearby glades with it would make for one amazing expert skiing area. It doesn't even need to be that much snowmaking, just enough to set a base.

(Geoff) Devils Fiddle provides fantastic southeast-facing terrain that is always the first thing to soften in March and April when the rest of the resort is frozen concrete. It was designed as a snowmaking trail and is rarely skiable on natural snow. Are there plans to blow snow on it and make this attraction available to your customers again?

Chris Nyberg : HS – Thanks for the feedback on Devils Fiddle. Agreed, that region provides a very unique experience that can be improved upon. The last 2 years nature has provided Killington with above average snowfall, particularly 07/08 when we were able to open Outer Limits on natural snow. That was a good day! The amount of natural snow on some runs is a decision driver that the Mountain Operations crew uses to determine where to focus their snowmaking efforts. Jeff Temple, the Director of Mountain Operations and his team will evaluate this run and the snowmaking needs once we get into production on Bear and make the call. My guess, most likely they will get on it unless this winter is mild and low snow in which case snowmaking will be concentrated on primary runs.

I read that as unfortunately, the Fiddle is very low on the snowmaking list, and will probably be (if at all) last on the list, after they've got their core trails covered with a base depth they feel is adequate, and then hit the other, non core trails with some gun time. Then if they're not into a constant battle to resurface because of an uncooperative mothernature, they'll light up the Fiddle (as long as the pipes passed the test).

All I know is that the last time they made snow on the Fiddle (in March maybe 4 or 5 seasons ago) the stuff the guns laid down from the top to just about the flat was AWESOME!

 

[Highway Star]

I read that as unfortunately, the Fiddle is very low on the snowmaking list, and will probably be (if at all) last on the list, after they've got their core trails covered with a base depth they feel is adequate, and then hit the other, non core trails with some gun time. Then if they're not into a constant battle to resurface because of an uncooperative mothernature, they'll light up the Fiddle (as long as the pipes passed the test).

Thank you captain obvious.

I was more curious if Tom Horrocks may have some updated information to share with us other than a "maybe".

 

[skiadikt]

not even in the picture. latest from tom on the insider blog:

We’ll be opening the Ramshead area this weekend, including Caper, Easy Street and Header trails.

With colder temperatures moving in this week, we’ll be able to continue snowmaking and move toward the Needle’s Eye and Bear Mountain areas. We are currently planning to have both open sometime during Christmas week, focusing snowmaking on the following trails:

• Lower High Road
• Cruise Control
• Skyeburst
• Gateway
• Bear Claw

Pending weather conditions, snowmaking will progress into the Sunrise area and down toward Skyeship base area on Great Eastern. We hope to have both those areas open sometime between Christmas and New Year’s. From there, we’ll continue filling in trails such as Needle’s Eye, Dream Maker, Outer Limits, Wildfire, Superstar, Downdraft and Double Dipper. Again, this is all pending weather and snow conditions.

based on his time table that would take us up to mlk. that still leaves devil's fiddle, vertigo, ovation, conclusion and the halfpipe. if all goes well i'd suspect they plan on blowing most of those trails. however opening weekend, when i asked jeff temple about the fiddle, he said "not if i'm still resurfacing rime in january". at that point he already blown rime a couple times and had to give it additional blows since. read what you like into it ...

 

[drjeff]

Thank you captain obvious.

I was more curious if Tom Horrocks may have some updated information to share with us other than a "maybe".

Get over it HS, as much as the Fiddle is a great trail (and it is IMHO), it's not a marquee trail at K. OL and with the chair right there and the deck at Bear right there is a BUSINESS DESCISION priority. The Fiddle is a luxury extra.

You really have to start thinking about operational questions from the business side of things, and aside from some internet buzz, would K see a favorable return on a Fiddle snowmakign investment greater then the buzz it gets with online reports of folks poaching the cliff after a good storm????

 

[ta&idaho]

Kinda funny to see this thread and this thread going on at the same time.